This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as a 1st time buyer of a two bedroom flat in Soham. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my conveyancer? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Soham?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the purchase money to the owner’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.

I'm the sole recipient of my late grandmother’s estate and I have everything in my name alone, including the my former home in Soham. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in December. I want to move. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership will be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the house in December. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The CML handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be caught by that. many mortgage companies would take a pragmatic view as this clause is primarily there to pick up on subsales or the quick reselling of properties.

I have instructed a Soham conveyancer having checked that they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Kent Reliance will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Kent Reliance will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Soham postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Kent Reliance, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Soham.

2 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Soham concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I was recommended by numerous property agents in Soham to get a quote from a solicitor on your site. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to recommend your site over a competitor’s?

We refuse to give any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

My husband and I are 18 days into a leasehold purchase having been referred to conveyancers by the local agent to handle our conveyancing in Soham. We are not happy. Could you help me find new solicitors?

A lawyer would have to be very bad to suggest replacing them. Has the mortgage been generated? In the event that it has you must make them aware of the new solicitor and ensure the offer are re-sent. Your solicitor ideally needs to be on the mortgage company approved list to avoid supplemental fees and frustration. That should be your starting point. Our search tool should help you find a bank approved lawyer for your home move in Soham

We own a leasehold flat in Soham. Conveyancing was finalised in 21012. I have read on various consumer forums that I mustn’t allow the lease length fall too short. Is this right?

Soham leasehold properties are for a set term - normally ninety nine years when they commenced. However a significant flats in Soham were built or converted in the 60’s and so these leases now have under eighty years unexpired. That may seem like a long time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies on the whole require leases to have a minimum of 75 years unexpired to be mortgageable. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are getting close to 75 years. To maximise the saleability of your property you should be thinking about whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Furthermore advantages to doing so before the lease reaches even 80 years as when the lease is less than eighty years the premium you have to pay to extend starts to escalate.